2000
#27,526
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 824
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.31
Rare Last name
Amiri
A surname originating from the Arabic word "amir" meaning "prince" or "ruler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,628 Americans carry the last name Amiri. That puts it at #12,827 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 130,424 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Amiri surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Amiri with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 130,424
Census rank
#12,827
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,292 bearers of the surname Amiri in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12827th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Amiri, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.9%. The next largest groups are White (39.0%) and Two or More Races (15.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Amiri
The surname Amiri originates from the Persian language and has its roots in the Middle East, particularly in present-day Iran. The name can be traced back to the 9th century AD during the Islamic Golden Age when Arabic and Persian cultures flourished.
Amiri is derived from the Arabic word "Amir," which translates to "commander" or "prince." It was initially used as a title for high-ranking officials or nobles in the Persian and Ottoman empires. Over time, the title evolved into a hereditary surname, particularly among families with a lineage of leaders or nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amiri can be found in the "Tarikh-e Beyhaghi," a historical chronicle written by the Persian scholar Abu'l-Fazl Beyhaghi in the 11th century. The chronicle mentions several individuals with the surname Amiri who held positions of power and influence during the Ghaznavid dynasty.
In the 13th century, the famous Persian poet and mystic, Farid al-Din Attar, mentioned an individual named Amir Amiri in his seminal work, "The Conference of the Birds." Attar's work is considered a masterpiece of Persian literature and provides insights into the cultural and intellectual landscape of the time.
During the Safavid dynasty in Persia, which ruled from the 16th to the 18th century, the Amiri surname gained prominence among the nobility and military elite. One notable figure from this period was Amir Khan Amiri, a powerful military commander who played a crucial role in the campaigns of Shah Abbas I, one of the most influential rulers of the Safavid Empire.
Another prominent individual with the Amiri surname was Mirza Mohammad Khan Amiri, a renowned Persian diplomat and writer who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He served as an ambassador to several European courts and authored several works, including a travel memoir detailing his experiences in Europe.
In more recent history, Mahmoud Amiri (1907-1988) was a prominent Iranian politician and diplomat who served as the Prime Minister of Iran from 1961 to 1962. He played a significant role in the country's political landscape during the tumultuous years leading up to the Iranian Revolution.
The surname Amiri has also been associated with various notable individuals in fields such as literature, science, and athletics. Some examples include the Iranian writer and poet Sayyed Amiri (1898-1970), the Iranian physicist Gholam-Ali Amiri (born 1957), and the Iranian football player Ali Amiri (born 1992).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amiri
Among Census respondents with the surname Amiri, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.9%. The next largest groups are White (39.0%) and Two or More Races (15.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Amiri bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Amiri surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.9% · 961
- White39.0% · 894
- Two or more races15.9% · 364
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 40
- Black or African American1.4% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Amiri
Amiri appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#21,759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,195
+371 bearers (+45.0%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Up 5,767 places
2020
#12,827
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,292
+1,097 bearers (+91.8%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 8,932 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #27,526 | 824 | 0.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,759 | 1,195 | 0.41 | +371 bearers (+45.0%) | Up 5,767 places |
| 2020 | #12,827 | 2,292 | 0.77 | +1,097 bearers (+91.8%) | Up 8,932 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Amiri surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,759 | #12,827 | 41.0% |
| Count | 1,195 | 2,292 | 91.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.77 | 87.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Amiri bearers went from 1,195 to 2,292 (+91.8% change). The surname moved up 8,932 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,759 to #12,827.
FAQ
Amiri surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Amiri?
Name Census estimates that about 2,628 living Americans carry the surname Amiri. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 130,424 residents.
How common is Amiri?
Amiri ranks #12,827 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,292 people with the surname Amiri. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,628), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Amiri.
Has Amiri become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Amiri went from 1,195 recorded bearers to 2,292. That is an increase of 1,097 (+91.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #21,759 to #12,827.
What does the Census say about the background of Amiri?
Among Census respondents with the surname Amiri, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.9%. The next largest groups are White (39.0%) and Two or More Races (15.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Amiri in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.9% (961 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Amiri appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (41.9%), White (39.0%), Two or More Races (15.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Amiri (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Amiri mean?
A surname originating from the Arabic word "amir" meaning "prince" or "ruler". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Amiri (0.77 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Amiri?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.